Indeed. Of all of the possible causes determinable from the appearance of the damaged bearings, surface fatigue does look like the most likely.
Recommendations for me as the operator to avoid such include:
- Don't lug the engine
- Avoid premature detonation
- Avoid overfueling (don't know what that is)
- No "hot rodding"
As far as I know, I have religiously kept all of those rules and will continue.
I will also be replacing the oil pump so that there is no oil starvation which can also cause bearing damage.
Otherwise, for the mechanic, just replace all of the bearings using proper preparation (grinding) of surfaces and installation techniques.
Great article with everything a person would need to know about bearing failure. I've saved it in my valuable information documents.
Thanks